Chapter 43 Eng
ENG
The Filipkowski house smelled like cinnamon, pine, and something Willa had called grandma-level cheesy potatoes.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it sounded delicious.
And it was delicious. There were multiple pork roasts which Willa’s father was cooking in several smokers outside, and they were accompanied by more than just the cheesy potatoes.
I ate it all, and was happy to finish off Olivia’s green beans which were flavored with bits of bacon and slivers of almonds.
In addition to the pie I’d purchased, there were cookies, brownies, ice cream, and a cake.
We drank sweet tea served in heavy glass pitchers, and washed down the sweets with hot, black coffee in mismatched mugs.
I loved Willa’s family. They were loud and affectionate and their playful teasing reminded me of my siblings that I’d lost. And the children… It had been so long since I’d had little ones climb all over me with sticky fingers, or take my hand and haul me outside to play basketball.
Willa insisted I go with them, even though I felt guilty for leaving everyone to clean up from dinner while I played with children.
So this was how I found myself outside in forty-degree weather to play “after-dinner basketball.” The blacktop driveway had potholes, the hoop on the garage door tilted slightly left, and the ball was brand spanking new.
“This isn’t going to be fair,” Jamie commented as he looked between me and the hoop. “You’re too tall. Maybe you should play on your knees so we’re the same height.”
“What exactly are the rules of this game?” I asked, hoping I really didn’t have to play on my knees. These were new pants, and while I could easily buy another pair, the thought of spending the rest of the day with holes in the knees of my trousers wasn’t pleasant.
“You’ve never played basketball before?” Oliva asked as if I’d confessed I’d never breathed before.
“No. I assume the goal is to get the ball through the hoop?” I asked.
Sarah nodded. “Yes, but you have to bounce the ball each time you take a step, and the other team tries to steal it from you.”
In the end it was decided that I didn’t have to play on my knees, but that I could only try to make a basket from halfway down the driveway.
I was paired with Olivia and a nephew with the unusual name of “Four,” with Jamie, Sarah, and Drew on the opposing team.
We played, and I found the game harder than expected.
The children were nimble and able to dart around me and even through my legs to shoot for the basket.
I kept forgetting to “dribble” the ball and accumulated a lot of penalties and time-outs.
The adults eventually made their way outside to sit in rickety aluminum lawn chairs and watch.
Willa joined them, the cold wind lifting her curls and making her scarf flap.
I managed to steal the ball from Drew and threw it toward the hoop a bit harder than expected. The ball bounced off the metal with enough force that the ring straightened and the ball rebounded into the neighbor’s yard.
“Sorry!” I called out.
Willa’s father cackled. “Are you kidding? Fixing that hoop has been on my honey-do list for months. Now I can finally cross it off and I didn’t even need to get out the ladder.”
The game became less basketball and more “how many people does it take to guard a seven-foot orc?” Olivia and Four abandoned me for the other team, turning the game into “all of the children against Eng.” I missed the basket over and over again, but in the end I finally scored a goal.
Willa laughed until her scarf and hat slid sideways and she had to lean on her brother to breathe. I laughed too because here I wasn’t afraid of failure. I wasn’t worried about looking the fool or embarrassing myself. Here I was safe. Here I was surrounded by people who loved me.
Here I was with the female I loved, the one I was determined to make my bride.
It was dark when Willa and I made our way to her small, dilapidated car. I carried the bags of leftovers, and she skipped ahead, car keys in hand.
“Was this okay? Did you have fun?” she asked as she helped me load the bags into the trunk.
“Yes, I had fun,” I said. Then, softer, I added, “It was more than okay.”
“What was your favorite part?” she asked.
I didn’t need to think. “Any time you laughed.”
Her smile grew warm. “Just that?”
“And the cheesy potatoes,” I added thoughtfully.
She laughed again, bright and full and I held that sound in my chest like a precious thing.
As we climbed into the car I pulled a box out from under the passenger seat. “This is for you.”
Her eyes widened. “A gift?”
“The first of many,” I told her.
Willa gently shook the box. “Doesn’t sound like a small pie, but the box is that shape. Hmm, a commemorative plate? A picture of you in a frame? What could it be?”
“Open it,” I urged, getting more nervous by the moment.
She popped the lid off the box and stared down at the contents, speechless.
“I had it brought over from home.” I shifted in my seat feeling even more claustrophobic in the small car.
“My parents didn’t want to send it until they had met you, but I insisted.
I know it is your culture to present a ring, but I thought you might want to go with me to pick that out.
This, this is the tradition for a prince in my kingdom, but if you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it. ”
Willa lifted the crown from the soft silk that lined the box. It was a thin band of gold and silver braided together with different colored gems representing each of the kingdom’s orc clans around the top. With a ragged breath, she lifted the crown and put it on her head.
“You look beautiful,” I told her. “My princess. My Willowyn. My miskal-temek. Will you be my bride?”
Tears sparkled in her eyes as she turned to me. “Yes. I love you Eng. I want to spend my life with you. Yes, I will marry you.”
Our kiss was awkward in the small car with the gear shift poking me in the ribs and the center console separating us, but I’d make up for it later. When we separated, Willa sighed, touching her crown and giving me a huge smile.
“I love this. Love it. I don’t think I’m ever going to take it off. So get used to seeing Princess Willa with her regalia on when she’s in the gym, the shower, or even taking out the garbage.”
“I’m happy you like it.” I reached forward to wipe the steam off the inside of the windshield.
Willa started the vehicle. “Can I wear the crown when we have sex?”
I laughed. “Yes, you can. Now let’s go home before your family wonders what we are doing out here in this car.”